Ophthalmic lens



Fim ,FNSLX *HEX F'E-X April" 2, 1935, H. H. sm.. 1,996,085

PHTHALMIC LENS Filednec. 2v, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 1 F1 EII H5111 FIEN PIES? FHSXZ; Fuv

H. H. STYLL OPHTHALMI C LENS 'April 2, 1935.

2 Sheets-Sheetl 2 Filed Dec. 27, 1952 FNXV FIEXl FIEXX Patented A pr. 2, 1935 UNITED sTATlas;fA

PATENT* OFFICE I 4 '1,996,os5 n OPHTHALMICN LENS' Harry-H. Styll, Southbridge, Mass., assignorto American Optical Company,

Southbridge,

Mass., a voluntary association of Massachusetts Application December l2 '1.,' 1932, sei-arno. 6478.968

s (imma: (cies- 54) This invention Vrelates *to` improvements in in lenses of the past but that will provide in addition for a change in magnification of the` image,

Without a. change in focus'wherein the parts of said lens are secured together and also to provide an improved process for securing these results.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved lens of this character and process for making the same which lens has more than two refractive lens faces so constructed as to have the appearance Aof a single lens and sothat vit may be mounted asthough it were a vsingle lens.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved process of making a lens of this' character havingl more than two lenticular faces so that the parts may be fused together to unite the parts into a unitary lens structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved compound lens of this character and process for making the same wherein the axes of the lens elements may be accurately matched one with the other in desired lrelation and separation and the parts fused together to hold this relation and toA unite them intoa unitary structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compound lens of this character and Iprocess of making the same wherein the lens elements have any desired combination and relationship of surfaces'and separation and wherein such elements are fused together into a unitary structure.

Another object'of the invention is to provide improved means for uniting the edges of the lens elements of a compoundlens of this character. y

Other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparentl from thefollowing kdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent that many changes may be made in the arrangement of parts and details of construction and steps of the vprocess without departing from the spirit of the invention' as expressed in the accompanying vclaims the preferred, forms only having been shown and described by way ofv illustration. yI therefore do not wish to'be limited to the exact'forms andv Fig. I is a front view of a lens embodying the invention.

Fig. II is a cross section on line II-Hof Fig. Figs. III to XI inclusive are diagrammatic cross sectional viewsshowing the'character andv relationship'of the inner lens surfaces of'various modifications of the invention.

Fig. XII is across section similar to II e wherein the inner surfaces of the lens elements 4are notr separated but abuteach other.

Figs. XIIIto XVI inclusive are partial cross iov sections showing different methods of uniting the edges of the lens elements.

Fig. XVII is a partial diagrammatic View partially in cross section showing a method of fusing the edges of the lens-elements together.

Fig. XVIII is a cross section through a compound lens having one lens element carryingthe optical corrections for cylinder, sphere and prism,"

one, singly, orjtwo, or `tljiree,"cc'imbined and the other lens element carrying the optical correction for` change in. magnification of the iirst element without change of focus thereof, and

Fig; vXIX is across section of a compound lens comprising two outer lens elements with a'uniting medium between them,the said' lens including optical corrections for cylinder, spherevand prism, one, two, or all, and also an optical correction for change` in magnification without change in focus of the other correction or corrections.

' In the past great vdiiiiculty has been-experien'ced'r in the art in matching the axes of the two surfaces of a lens, particularly where one or both of said surfaces had a difference yin curvature in its twomajormeridians such as toricjorh cylindrical surfaces and especially in bi-cylinder or bi-torics. If thev axes were not matched properly the lens was wasted, being unt for use.

This made-this type of lens very expensive. In

more' recent years an additional correctionhas been added to eye corrective lenses and there was no place left for it inthe single lens. The

previous corrections hadv embraced both Lcylindrical and spherical corrections, the cylinder being on one side, the sphere on the other and prismatic correction was obtained by decentration,`

Thenew correction 4was one' that changed vthe A magnification without changing the focus, put in two meridia-ns of a single eye, etc. 'Ihis obtained by putting the magnification in a separate lens aligned with the lens covering the spherical,

cylindrical and prismatic corrections. This compound, unconnected lensiwas bulky and unsightly.

-' Its appearance was such as `to make it imniflcation will bel produced. The` element is so.

practicable for wear. It was also extremely dimcult and expensive to mount, requiring special and unsightly mountings. 'I'he principal objects of my invention are'to overcome these disadvantages and to provide simple, efilcient and economical means for providing against them.l

Referring to the drawings wherein similar ref erence characters denote corresponding parts throughout: In Figure XVIII I have shown an4 elementary lens of two parts designed to change the size of image without change of power., f-The eye is shown at I 1. The element I8 is the ordinary prescription lens having the surfaces hind4 l designed in the usual prior fart'way for corre`c' tions of sphere, cylinder and prism,` one, all vor any. The element I9` is theelement that pro.-

surfaces and the thickness o f the element. Wherejv change' in size of the two major meridiana is de-v sired spherical surfacesare used; when change in one'meridian only is desired cylindrical surfaces are used.. Such a lens element as iswellknown produces size change without power change. In such a lens element the two surfaces in orderto produce no optical power are nearly concentric or substantially equal. T 'he explanation vof this is that in the practical range of ophthalmic lenses equal surfaces and concentric surfaces are substantially alike.` An inflntely thin lens with` equal surfaces produces, no power, but ini crease of thickness does produce somepower buty in the practical range of ophthalmicflenses-it isl very small and a very small alteration of a surface will compensate the thickness', asfor example, a lens 3 mm. thick having a 6 diopter front surface would have a 6.075diopter rear vsurface for, no power', hence, bysu-bstantially equal surfaces and nearly concentric surfacesis meantl herein surfaces that will produce no power with the desired thickness.

. VWhen the concave side of the element is placed nearest the eye the size oflimagel is increased, when the convex side ofthe element is nearest the eye, the size of the image is decreased. The desired change in size is obtained by the relationship of the two surfaces of the element and the thickness thereof by well understood optical rules.

The magnification in a no optical power element is due to the bending or curving of the element. If an object isviewed through a plane parallel,

the, effect of this` plane parallel isnegligible.v If,"-

however, we bend the plane parallel as happens when it isk ground on different base curves, a mag-v f curved or bent to givedesired magnification.

For description of lenses of this nature see article entitled Lenses for changing the sizer and shape of dioptric images by Ames, Glidden and Ogle of the department of research infphysiological optics, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire,contained in a pamphletV reprint from 'l'he Annals of the Distinguished Service Foundation of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts, 1932, page 27. y

The faces I, 2, 3, and l may be of any desired flat or curved lens surface such as plano, concave, convex, spherical, cylindrical, toric, as-

sired or' required configuration such as pherical, flat prism, curved prism and toric prismy etc. 'I'he surfaces I, 2, 3, and 4 are ground and polished to required surface in the usual prior art way. f

After the various surfaces of the lens elements have been prepared they are assembled as shown in Fig. II and Fig. XlI. The inner surfaces 2Y and they may be separated as shown in Fig'. II." The separation of the lens elements depends on the foc'us'and magnification required in the composite lens.

'I'he outline shape of the lens may be any deoval, drop eye or othershape.

' In making the lensof Fig. XII the vfaces 2'y and I are abutted oneagainst the other-and the two elements turned until their axes are in desired relationship one with the other. 'I'he twoelements are then clamped or ksecured .together .by

circular',

cementitios means orotherwise and placed, iny

the clamps 5 and 8 of Fig.`XVII. These clamps have the axle rods 'I andl `Ii respectively. These axle rods are rotatably mounted' in suitable sup-" ports not shown so the clamped lensfelements may be rotated as a` whole. Adjacent the edgejo'f the lenselements a suitable torch'ilame 9 is arranged, l being suiiicient toproduce thefnecessary heat to fuse the edge parts of the lens elements together. The darne 9 is` blown against' the edge of `the lenselements by the blow pipe I 0.A The lens' elements are revolved on the axles 1 and B until the edges of the lens elements are uniformly v meltedtogether. 'I'hen the' heat is removed, the kparts annealed and allowed to cool. Other methodsV of applying the heat kto theedges of the lens elements such as an electricfurnace may be utilized `instead yscribed.

The parts of Fig. XIImay be also ifdesired fused together face to face-onthefaces 2 and l. In'lthis operation 'one' part is laid yon arefractory block, the other part superimposed on the first part, the twodesired surfacesl and C being placed face to face. 'I'he assembled partsare then placed in afurnace andthe two lens' elements fused together in `,theusual prior art method.

.f AIn making the lensfl of the process is the same except that a separator mem- `ber II.of soft glass,` or suitable flux is placedV `between the lens elements. This separator is of' the thickness designed to produce a separation "i,

of the lens elements necessary, ytogive therequired focusor the necessary magnification' required. The partsare fusedtogether asd'escribed above, the axes having related as kdescribed above. f

After the lens Velements havefbeen fusedr together the composite lens thus made is bevelled Vat the edge to t a lens holding mounting in the usual way. 'Ihisybevel is *indicated* at I2.

'I'he edge butts may be formed in variousways. "l

.In llig.I )GII the edges of thetwo Aelements are bevelled back at Ilyand ailler'plu'g I4 inserted between thel surfaces Il@ Thisfplug may be asoftglass orlflux that'fuses easily. In Fig. XIV

fmatch. In Fig. XV f the abutting fedges I6 are ya. tongue and groove fit, and in Fig; XVI the .abutthe abutting edges. I5 are a concavo-convex ting edges 2| are a plane dt. Y Various modifications may bemade in these edges,.the main c'on-y sideration being to provide a joint that is readily fused and to which heat.

it is easy to apply the fusing tionsy andrelationships ofthe inner surfaces of thelen's convex, double convex, etc'.

The supports Il mayA be `clear or colored,` as desired, and the ienselements may be clear glass or colored glass, as desired. One maybe clear, the other colored, or eachmaybeof a different shade. y y c A f I The lens' surfaces 4are ground and polished in the usual way.'r AThe fusing portions of `the lexis` elements may be either' gray' or 'unpollshed" or` polished", -as desired, to provide'l-best fusing.

In' the form of lens indicated infFi'g. `II itis apparent that there `are fourvlensy faces, which doubles the number of y such facesas'compared This extra' lens surface spacey with a single lens. y makesit possible "to add the correction for mag:-

nication in addition to the correction for'sphere,

cylinder and prism. This arrangement also provides'a simple and inexpensive way for placing the axes of the two lens elements in desired' rela` tion. The lens when completed has all'the appearances and advantages of a unitary lens structure. y

Instead of bevelingy the edges as at l'lth'e lens maybe ground off to fit the frame on an edge grinding machine in the ways now utilized to edge simple single lenses, and particularlyfor4 thick lenses in the same manner as thick'single lenses or cataract lenses. v f

The finished structurev is'unitaryv and it may thus be handled and mounted just as any single lensis done. V 'y The correction for change in magnification withouty change in focus may be made in only one of the lens elements as shown in Fig. XVIII,v

wherein the surfaces I and 2 are shaped to take care of the magnification, and the surfaces '3 and 4 to take care of the corrections for cylinder,`

sphere o'r prism, one, both,` or all. This correction may also be taken care of in the compilation of all the surfaces l, 2, 3 and 4, or in any desirable combinationof these as found most expedient and economical, different procedures being yfollowed for different powersv of lenses, wherein shape, thickness and' other characteristics are taken into account. AThe object isto obtain the best lens forany power with the desired magnification included therein.

In Fig. XIX I have provided a compound lens having'one element with the surfaces I'and 2 and a'second element having the surfaces 3 and 4. These two elements are separated and a filler piece'20 of a refractive medium different from the mediumof the `othertwo elements placed between them. The object is to provide-a rela'- tionship of the lens elements with the filler piece wherein the relationship is such as to make the filler piece the equivalent of air in its refractive effect. As for example, I may make the element having the surfaces 3 and 4 of int glass having a refractive index of 1.7, the other element of flint glass with refractive index of 1.7 and the filler piece of crown glass of refractive index 1.5. To obtain this relationship the curves on the lens elements, particularly the innerv curves are modified so that taken in conjunction with the refractive index of the filler piece, the equivalent of an air space betweenvthe lens elements is obtained by the usual methods in optical computations using the index of the ller instead of the index of air for the separator.

vIn making this lens one of the lens elements i elementsl are indicatedz' parallel," double' f concave, plano concave, plano convex, concavof vthe second element is fused to theA ,filler piece a similar way.l [The lensthen mayv be surfaced,l

From the foregoing it will be` seen y y provided simple, elcient and economical means and processes for carrying out all the objects of islaidA on a refractory block with .the inner surface up, the filler pieceis laid; on the element,l f the assembled parts' putinv a furnace and:` them glass parts fused together inthe usual way; vthen cut, and bevelled 'in `the usual way for mounting.

and the character'ofglass l of'the partsjmaybe ,of focus, vwhereas fif they convex y"sidefis, 'plaeedj lr'iearest the eyeV the image"`w`il1 bef reduceld` i size without change of focus. Q l I the It will be understood that'.

ents f frnodifle'dand changed to'reet' the/best condi! j f tionsfor the lens desiredg', y Y M lement'havingjthe sur; A "faceslf andi `as'stated aboli/ eis the elementth t' y c ,introduces ,thechenge f.. magniflatin wit change of focus;` The' general law ofsuchfle may be made of vglasses of any desired l'indicesffc'fV refraction and that the said elements may .be Y,

. secured together by luniting their yentireperiph- Y eral edges or' by uniting the said edges only. atff' av few selected spots. This fun'iting'A depends vlargely upon the shape' and curvatures ofthe elements.

the invention andobtaining its advantages. Having described my inventionJ claim:

that lI-havelk 1. A lens comprising a plurality of lens ele-` ments superimposed one over the other, both of said )elements having optical surfaces on their two faces and the lens system of said superimposed elements being optically equivalent to a` lens composed of two units; one of said units having surfaces on its two sides of substantiallyv the same curvature and deflected or bent from a flat plane by an amount to produce a required magnification, and having substantially no optical power, and the other of said units having optical surfaces of different curvaturesfon its two faces by an amount to produce a required` focal power, the bending away from a nat plane' of said superimposed elements being different fromthe bendingv away from a flat planeof a lenshavingthe same focal power but no magniflcation,. whereby the required magnification is 2.]A lenscomprising Va plurality of lens ele. 'l

ments superimposed one over the other, both of said elements having optical surfaces on their two faces and the lens system of said .superimposed elements being optically equivalent to a. lens composed of two units, one of said units having surfaces on its two sides of substantially the same curvature and deflected or bent from a nat plane by an amount to produce a' required magnification, and having substantially no opti-` cal power, and the other of said Vunits having optical surfaces of different curvatures on its two faces by-an amount to produce a required focal power, the bending away from a flat plane of said superimposed elements being different from the bending away from a flat plane of a lens `introducedinto the lens andsaid superimposed lss ` the samey curvature and deflected or bent from a Yzo having'the same focal power but no magnifica-.j

tion. whereby the requiredmagnincation is in# troduced into the lens .and ,said elements being ttediand secured together ad'- jacentftheir marginal edges to. produce'a uni,- taryiensstructure 'j 3. A lens comprising a plurality of lens elements superimposedxone over" the other, bothof said elements'having optical surfaces on their 4secured together.

'power'."the bending away froma ilat plans of' s aid elements being different from thebendingawayfrom a hat Vplane of a lens havingthe same focal poweribut no magnificamagnification. and having substantiallyjno optiff 'said superimposed tion, whereby the magnification-is irltroducedinto the lens and said superimposed elements being abutted and secured togetheradjacent their marginal edges to producea structure. 4.74. lens comprising aplurality of lens elements superimposed oneoverthe other, both off said elements having optical surfacesfon their two vfaces'and the lens system of said superim# posed elements being optically 'equivalent to a lens composedof two units, one oi'saidunits` having surfaces on its'two 4sides ofY substantially flat plane by an amount to produce a requiredy cal' power, and the other of` said units optical surfaces of different curvatures on'its two faces by an amount to producea required'l focal power the bending away from anat plane of y elements being dierent from the bending `away from a flat plane'of a lens hav-f ing the same focal power` but nomagnlncation, whereby the required magnification is introduced into the lens and said superimposed; elementsj having a portion of their adjacent surfaces fitted and secured together. y 5. A lens comprising a plurality of lens lelements'superimposed one over the other, `both of said elements having optical'suri'aces ontheir two faces and the lens system'of saidjsuperim posed` elements being optically equivalent to "a; lens -composed of two units, one of vsaid units having surfaces on its' two sides *of substantially the same curvature and deflected or bent from a flat plane by an amount to produce arequired magnification, and having substantially no `optical power. and the other of said units having optical surfacesof difterentcurvatures on itsfrom thebending tical surfacesv --stantially no optical twol faces byan amountfto produce a required focal power. thebending away fromla ilat planeV of said superimposed elements `being different lens havingthe some foc'alpowei'l butno magnification, whereby the requiredmagnincation is y introduced into the lens and said' superimposed elements'havmg a curvature' and having .focalfpower, said .two elemenu bemg aligned onewitn menthe; with their,

separated. by a distance Ito give optical properties ofthe twoVK n utilisentA elements, and ailllerpieceofgoptical glass filling the Ymarginal not the central portion thereof.

7. A lens comprising a lens element-having op faces of substantiallyv .said element -f having Vsub-j` on lits two` the same curvature,

focal power. a lens element having ycurved opticalsurfaces on its twofaces,

said surfaces being substantiallydillerent in vcurvature and havingfocal power, said two elements beinsaligned onewith space between the but the other with their ad-` jacent surfaces separated by a distance togive away fromfa natplane vof/n.

portion of their adjacentedgea the required optical properties of the two elements, v

and a filler piece of optical glass filling the marginal space between the elements .but not thecenw A v tral portion thereof, said filler piece being .extended beyond themargin of the edges of said two elements. Y

surfaces'onits two sides of substantially the same 4- curvature and deflected or bent from a flatplane 8.\A lens'comprising a plurality` of lenselel vments superimposed oneover the other, fboth .of

.system of vsaid superimposed by anamount toV produce a required magnification and having substantially no optical' power, and the other of said unitshavingoptical surfaces,

. `of different curvatureson its two 4faces `by an amount-to produce arequired focal power, buty neitherof said elements actually having surfaces v` on its two sides of substantially the same curvature, the bending` away from a hat plane fof lsaid superimposed elements being different from', the 'bendingaway from a flat plane of "a lens having the same focal power but n0 magnification, whereby the requiredmagnitlcation is introduced into the lens and said superimposed elements being positioned and heldin required `related position 1 to eachother. g lHARRY H. STYLL. 

